Suggestions for first pistol

I'm agreeing with eatmydust and say a 9mm because of low amount of .22 lr ammunition ...a smith and Wesson m&p 9mm or a 40 cause instead of buying a whole new gun when u want to go to a bigger caliber u can get the smith and wesson m&p 40 and buy a 9mm conversion barrel which also plays well if u just want to go out and shoot cause 9mm ammo is cheaper just my suggestion

On the range for informal practice, I load only 5 rounds at a time. I am then forced to reload. This gives me time to evaluate what I am doing wrong. And it makes my range time longer.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mouser

I do the same thing with regard to loading only 5 rounds...mostly anyways. Slows me down, allows me to enjoy more range time and helps me troubleshoot any accuracy issues I have. I have a Springfield XDM 5.25 in 9mm and the magazine holds 19 rounds...just imagine going through a box of ammo with 2 and half magazine loads

I do that as well. It helps me make every shot count...plus saves on ammo...(And some days it's easy to get frustrated when things aren't going as planned, and blow through the whole mag out of annoyance...)

OP-Curious as to why a revolver is not a consideration???

Experienced Vincent would tell greenhorn Vincent to start shooting a wheelgun in D/A first, then work up from there as those skills are transferrable to a semi-auto. Not so much the other way around...

A little more about me and the situation...I was around guns as a child as my dad was and still is an avid hunter. He took me out deer hunting a few times, but sitting in the rain a few years, not seeing anything and hitting my teen years ended the hunting career of my youth. Most of that experience was with rifles, and a pellet pistol my frothier and I had for shooting cans in the backyard.
Now, with a family and such, as well as shooting pistols with my dad , brother and my kids over the holidays has me thinking of picking a pistol for home protection and target practice. My 8 yr old son had a great time shooting a .22 rifle as well...all he talks about for the last few days.
Anyway, I'm just doing the research I typically do before a purchase like this. So I thank you all for the suggestion...I've been looking at every gun you've all suggested.